4 Tons for 1371 sq.' to much?

[beenthere]

You have some old windows.
Any improvement you can do to them will help.
And yes, your return leaves a bit to be desired.

Run the calcs when you get the chance, and I think you might find that you have a 7 ton load.

[Daltex]

You are right about the windows. Over 50 yrs old. The vertical side row on each side swing out and there is no gaskets. I've chalked the ones we never open shut along with the ones I could feel cold air in the winter.

I'll run the down calcs this weekend and post back. I'm going to re-run the upstairs with high eff. glass and see how much that would help and then get a monster quote on replacements and see if there is a ROI. The walls are a big load factor with no insulation so I'll get a quote on blowing foam.

[mark beiser]

Wow, lots of glass, and energy efficiency wasn't exactly a design consideration for those old crank out windows.
Now I see why the load is so high!
Looks like you have a good bit of natural shading for the house though.

I really like the looks of old houses like that, and the style of windows it has. Nice simple lines to the house, no unnecessary weird projections.
I look at large modern homes and often wonder if the architect was actually setting out to crate as many potential water leaks into the house as possible, or if it was just out of ignorance.


One thing you may want to look into is interior storm windows.
They are way less expensive than replacing your windows, preserve the look of the house, give you the advantages of modern low E glass, and are easy to remove if you want to open a few windows during mild weather.

The right awnings would look fantastic on that house, would be completely in character with the style, and would give you good window shading.

[adamk]

Wow! what a pretty house...

Also consider cellulose for the walls. That old of a house will be slats and plaster for the walls, correct? I wonder if filling a wall like that will be easy or hard.

I've heard that adding storms brings a lot of the benefits of new windows without the
huge price.

What's the rest of the house/property look like ?

Adam

[Shophound]

I look at large modern homes and often wonder if the architect was actually setting out to crate as many potential water leaks into the house as possible, or if it was just out of ignorance.

It was done to get the buyer prowling new subdivisions out of his/her car and into a mortgage. Beyond that, nobody gave a flying rat's bum about the long term outcome.

Somewhat off topic, but did you catch the piece on Channel 8 News last night about CSST being run too close to the roof decking in some newer homes in Mansfield? Apparently there's been more than one instance of roofers poking holes in the lines with their nailers as they reroofed a house. A homeowner kept smelling gas after his roof was replaced but couldn't figure where it was coming from until he went up into his attic and found the culprit. I turned to my wife and said that from the very first time I saw that stuff being used in a house that I just KNEW something like that was bound to happen someday. No way in hell I'd have anything but black pipe up in an attic. Seems to be the general rule of construction: if it's flexible, it's fack-up-able.

For the OP, that's some lake pad you got there. Not my preferred architectural style, but impressive nonetheless.

[beachtech]

That indicates that the current 4 ton is over sized.
If the supply plenum is leaking, then your pulling in unconditioned air from somewhere to make up for it.

Plus, if your duct system is as undersized as you indicated, your current 4 ton, isn't running at 4 tons of capacity.

thats the economizer

[RyanHughes]

thats the economizer

Looks like most people have an economizer and don't even know it. I have one... I just open my window.

[Daltex]

Did you deduct the window sq ft from the wall sq ft.

I need to read the instructions!!!

Got you on one been! HVAC-Calc deducts the size of the windows from the wall area along with doors so you just measure the gross size the add the additions. It kept giving me errors when I was running the first floor so I read the help guide.

[Daltex]

One thing you may want to look into is interior storm windows. They are way less expensive than replacing your windows, preserve the look of the house, give you the advantages of modern low E glass, and are easy to remove if you want to open a few windows during mild weather.

Great idea. I was thinking the replacement of all the windows would never give a ROI. Living in the Dallas area all my life, I never thought about storm windows. I thought they were a package deal with the main window. I'll look into them as that sounds like a great efficiency saver. Thanks!

[Daltex]

Wow! what a pretty house...

Also consider cellulose for the walls. That old of a house will be slats and plaster for the walls, correct? I wonder if filling a wall like that will be easy or hard.

I've heard that adding storms brings a lot of the benefits of new windows without the
huge price.

What's the rest of the house/property look like ?

Adam

It's drywall over 2x4 studs with 1x6 dovetailed boarding faced by brick. You can see in the photo of the return posted earlier the look of the wood behind the return grill. I don't think the retro filling would be that difficult but may be costly due to the size and number of windows where the wall would need to be accessed both above and below the windows. I will get a quote one day though.

[adamk]

Good jobs that fill the walls with cellulose should be doing two fills.
One midway up to fill the lower half and then a second fill, close to the top
to fill it up the rest of the way. Foaming does this too - so its said.

What lake are you on ?

Adam